CHEYENNE – A Wyoming Chamber of Commerce has launched with assistance from the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Sweetwater Economic Development Coalition.

According to the Wyoming Chamber of Commerce, the organization seeks to unite the voices of smaller chambers, economic development organizations and businesses throughout the Cowboy State. The Wyoming Chamber of Commerce wants to use those unified voices to help influence policy at the state and federal levels.

Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce CEO Rick Lee said the Wyoming Chamber was born from a lobbying organization that represented the state’s chambers of commerce. His goal for the organization is to improve the state’s position in the business environment.

“Our objective is to strengthen the position of Wyoming in the competitive business environment. Combining the resources that each Chamber of Commerce has across the state will make us stronger individually and collectively. Wyoming will be better positioned for success as we work with elected officials and businesses as partners to advance our economic development.”

Kaitlin Knapp, director of marketing and public relations for the Wyoming Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber requested membership lists from organizations like the Rock Springs Chamber and the county economic development coalition. She said the lists help the Wyoming Chamber of Commerce have better communication with businesses and groups throughout the state and give them a platform to voice their concerns.

“This collaboration allows us to provide them, and their members, with our resources and strengthens support for Wyoming’s business community,” she wrote in an email to SweetwaterNOW.

There is a second state-wide chamber organization, the Wyoming State Chamber of Commerce, that also exists but operates differently from the Wyoming Chamber of Commerce. The Wyoming State Chamber of Commerce operates similarly to the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, with its membership consisting of the state’s 40 chambers of commerce and focusing on initiatives to help build business in the state. Both Lee and Green River Chamber of Commerce Director Lisa Herrera are members of the Wyoming State Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, with Lee serving as the current president of the organization.

Lee said the Rock Springs Chamber’s board of directors approved its membership in both organizations, saying the Rock Springs Chamber benefits from them in different ways.